Red turned around and saw the charred mark on the tree behind. The fireball didn't just leave a charred mark, but also took a chunk of the trunk off. The fireball was powerful enough to leave such a big mark.
His heart started to beat quicker at the thought of the fireball hitting his body. He imagined what would happen if the fireball hit his body. It might instantly kill him instead of leaving a charred mark.
The shock from the fireball that came out of the wolf's mouth gave the wolf an opening. It was his mistake to see the aftermath of the fireball. The moment he turned toward the wolf, it was already in front of him, pouncing at him with its mouth open.
Red subconsciously raised his left hand, crossing his hand over his face. The wolf bit his hand; its teeth sank into his flesh.
In his mind, he was sacrificing his left hand to block the wolf and countering the wolf with his dagger. He planned to stab the wolf's lower belly. That was what was in his mind, but the reality was different.
The force behind the pounce caused him to lose balance before he could do anything. He fell on his back, and that was when the wolf tried to rip his hand apart. He could feel the force trying to pull his hand.
Red tightened his arm and held it firmly, then his right hand moved with a dagger. He stabbed the side of the wolf's neck, not just once but many times. He stabbed and pulled the dagger repeatedly.
At first, the wolf could tighten the bite in his hand, but he didn't stop. He kept stabbing the wolf's side of the neck. Blood poured onto his body as the force behind the bite weakened.
Even though it was weakened, Red didn't stop. He kept going until the wolf completely fell on top of him, lifeless. Its teeth were still in his flesh, and he carefully pulled the wolf away from him.
His chest heaved up and down heavily, his heart was thumping wildly, and his eyes were wide open, staring at the clear sky. At the same time, his mind was going wild, imagining all kinds of scenarios. He could imagine many scenarios where this would end with his death.
If the wolf started blasting the fireball when it bit his hand, he might die there. If the wolf were in prime condition instead of starving, he might lose that battle as well. The starvation seemed to drive the dire wolf crazier.
That made him think whether the other dire wolves could shoot the same fireball or if this starved wolf was the only one. All kinds of thoughts ran through his mind, but he quickly calmed down as a screen popped out in front of him.
It was a notification that his Levelheaded Skill reached level 15. That skill helped him calm down as he got back on his feet. That was when he heard cracking branches.
In his mind, it might be another wolf. His hand moved so quickly as he replaced the dagger with the slingshot. He aimed in the direction from which the noise came, but what he found was not a dire wolf, but a terrified goblin.
It was the surviving goblin hunter, leaning against the tree. The moment he directed the slingshot at the goblin, the young goblin fell on his butt, getting even more terrified.
"I-it's m-me… B-boss…"
Red took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. He was thinking about what he should do to this hunter. The thought of killing the goblin hunter crossed his mind just to ensure there was no complication afterward.
He shook his head and ordered the terrified young goblin, "Stay there!"
The young hunter wanted to say something, wanting to beg Red not to leave him behind. But the words stuck in his throat at the sight of the dead dire wolf. The scene where Red repeatedly stabbed the dire wolf crossed his head.
He watched the battle from the start to the end. At first, he tried to help when Red was pinned down by the wolf. However, the situation was turned around so quickly, and Red ended up killing the wolf. The young hunter nodded his head vigorously, not daring to voice his thoughts.
Red then picked up the dead dire wolf and dragged it to the other side of the wolf. He headed into the jungle to exchange the wolf for loot, and he didn't want the young goblin to see what he got from this exchange.
As he walked into the jungle, he checked his wound. There was a bloody bite mark, and it was still bleeding, which was followed by stinging pain. Considering the situation, this was the best outcome for him, as he survived with just a bite wound.
He checked his status to see his remaining health, which was at 417 Health. That bite and scratch took 83 Health. That showed that the dire wolf was still far from killing him. In terms of the status, he was still far from dying, but the feeling, the sensation of death itself, was close to him during the fight. The feeling was still fresh, and the sensation of how close he was to death was still lingering inside him.
If not for Levelheaded, he might be in the same condition as the young goblin, terrified. The skill truly helped him in this kind of situation.
After ensuring that his Health didn't go down anymore, his focus went back to the corpse he brought over. He was too nervous when he spotted the wolf and forgot to use Appraisal before fighting it. All in his mind was to kill the wolf. He forgot to use the skill to find out the wolf's level.
"This thing should be above level 5. I expect good loot!"
Red exchanged the body with loot after saying that, expecting a good loot. He expected four cores or maybe even more. This wolf could shoot fire, after all. He felt like he deserved that much reward.
The loot was revealed as the body turned into light particles. There was no core or coins, not even a scroll skill, but a dark-brown book. Curious what this was about, Red quickly grabbed the book from the ground.
[Book of Manasmith 1]
[Do you want to learn Book of Manasmith 1?]